Taste

Whether water has a taste of its own or is merely a flavor carrier has long divided the scientific community. A new study by Caltech researchers could help advance this debate: according to their findings, not only does such a sense exist, but it's located in an unexpected place.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NSU)​ have developed a way to capture and digitally transmit the flavor of a drink that is reproduced using electrodes to trick your tongue into tasting the sourness of lemonade when all you're really drinking is boring old water.

UK-based food inventor Charlie Harry Francis is looking to challenge the idea that the sensory delight offered by our favorite foods need live on in the form of bulging waistbands. His Edible Mist Machine is capable of producing inhalable mists ranging in flavor from smoked bacon to apple pie.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a holiday in which we celebrate the blessings granted by Life, the Universe, and Everything. It may soon be possible to enjoy such a repast as a character in a movie or a video game, aided by a new method for digitally actuating the sense of taste.